The ExChristian.Net blog exists for the express purpose of encouraging those who have decided to leave Christianity behind. This area contains articles sent in between January 2001 and February 2010. To view recent posts, click on the "Home" link.

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1. Never accept any thing on faith. Faith is just an excuse for laziness. Get out and do some research on the origins of your god. Question things that don't make sense or defy logic. Don't accept ignorance.

2. Find out where the money you donate really goes. Most churches are big business organizations which prey on the fears of the sick and elderly, or try to influence minors before they can think for themselves. They are not required to give an accurate accounting of funds taken in.

3. Realize that every tax concession given to a religious organization must be made up in some other way. You, the tax payer, are supporting religions you may not even believe in, or approve of. Demand a full accounting of all funding churches receive. Find out how much actually goes to charitable causes, how much goes to outreach propaganda, how much goes into business investments, and how much is sent to headquarters. Would this money be better distributed by your local government to aid the community? If this income were taxed, how much would your community benefit?

4. Consider Robert Ingersoll's maxim: "Hands that help are better far than lips that pray." When you send money to a mission overseas do you really know what is happening? Don't you think that tools would be more helpful to an impoverished nation than bibles? Don't hospitals perform more miracles than churches?

5. Do not sit back and accept that everything is "All In God's Plan". That is a cop out! Take responsibility for your own life. Get out and do something in your community to make this world a better place. If you wait for divine intervention, you'll be waiting a long time.

6. Be a good person, not because you fear the wrath of god but because you want to help. Be kind to all living things because you respect life and are capable of making good choices on your own. If god is as merciful as some religions would like you to believe, then he'll forgive those who think logically. If he is as vengeful and unforgiving as other religions claim, then who would want to live with a tyrant like that?

7. Realize that all animals have feelings, display emotions, have dreams, feel hope and give love. They also feel pain, terror, grief and loneliness. Whether you believe in a god or not, you must accept that we share the world with other creatures and should strive to treat them all with compassion. Treat animals with the same respect you would treat someone of a different culture. Just because you don't understand them, doesn't mean they are not sentient beings.

8. Examine the roots of racial and sexual prejudices. They often have a religious origin. Remember that the history of most religions is bloody, cruel and repressive, no matter how much they claim to be based on love.

9. Don't expect a god to solve the world's problems. Look to science, technology and humanity for help. These items were repressed in the Dark Ages by religious leaders who feared losing power over their ignorant followers.

10. After diligent study, make a mature and knowledgeable decision. Decide which god, if any, is needed to make your life full.

There is no evidence of a benevolent creator. There is much cruelty on earth, from a cat toying with a mouse, to snakes slowly squeezing the life out of their prey, to children born with terrible handicaps. To say that this is "all God's plan" seems like a pretty poor excuse.

To say that Satan is the cause of the world's ills makes no particular sense. If God is all powerful and all merciful, he would have rid the earth of Satan a long time ago, rather than let millions of innocents suffer.

Life on earth demonstrates survival of the fittest, strongest or most intelligent - all traits developed through natural selection. Random acts of cruelty are part of this system. We must use our own intelligence to make this world a better place.

14 comments:

I wonder if you would give that same advice to those escaping the Moonies, the Mormons, the JWs, Islam, or any of the other mind-bending religious cults?

Christianity is a pervasive and powerful cult - that's why we spend our time - that's why we care - that's whey we try to help.

Life is more than eat, drink and be merry, and I don't need a magical bleeding man-god on a stick to make life worthwhile. Maybe you're worldview is so shallow that you need a magic feather to fly, but not everyone is so limited.

If God really does not exist why waste your time and energy discussing the concept. Why not just eat, drink and be merry.

Benji:A common rhetorical for Christianites to lob at heathens. It always goes something like, "If you don't believe in god, then who cares about anything? Why not just party like it's 1999? Why not just take your pants off and run around in a circle shouting blasphemies and kick your neighbor's dog and double-park at the grocery store?" Wow, I never thought of that! You got me! Great job, Christian!

There is an intelligent response to a question like that but I won't waste my time. It's different for everybody. Asking such an asinine question says more about the worldview of the Christian asking it, than it says about the non-believer, who, frankly, would rather get on with life than have to answer to a person who believes in talking snakes.

Oh Lordy, how I remember all the warm fuzzy feelings I used to get being a Christian! I only wish my life could once again be so black and white as to be practically meaningless--so that I wouldn't have to worry about what I say and do, and I could just chalk my behavior up to earning divine brownie points to one day redeem for a slice of that great pie in the sky. Yummy!

Sometimes we ex-Christians all wish we could go back in time and smack ourselves upside the head.

It is amazing how this blog proves the truth of Calvinism. It also shows how useless is the pandering of Arminians as they try to scam you into a decision. Of course this is what happened to almost all of you to start with. You were told you had the power to accept Jesus and to determine the will of the deity,who would reward you for your wise decision. Surely the submissive Jesus would gladly come into your hearts. Now you know otherwise. The truth is that God only reveals himself to his elect and rejects the rest. At least the Calvinists would told you the truth and you could have spent those lost years enjoying the pleasures of sin. Calvin called it the horrible decree. It is. But life is unfair.

In the new 10 commandments, it says"7. Realize that all animals have feelings, display emotions, have dreams, feel hope and give love. They also feel pain, terror, grief and loneliness. Whether you believe in a god or not, you must accept that we share the world with other creatures and should strive to treat them all with compassion. Treat animals with the same respect you would treat someone of a different culture. Just because you don't understand them, doesn't mean they are not sentient beings. Would this hold true for spiders, ants, and other bugs ? I know this may seem like a silly question, but now I feel sorta bad, because I occassionally step on and murder ants, spiders, and other such small creatures. Would a truly good person attempt to divert the ants or whatever away somehow, instead of murdering them ? lol Up till I read that #7, I thought I was a good person, but now im not so sure. I have to admitt, I eat meat, and like my leather boots and jacket when riding my motorcycle too. Where do we draw the line ? Im going to go ahead and post this against my better judgement, and probably appear as some kind of nut.

i am not saying what religion or non religion i am, but just know that pre-destination is not right. we might as well not look both ways before crossing the street, if we are ran over or not, it was predestined. don't you see, we have our own free will and not everything is predestined. we can stop things that might happen in our life.

but if you do believe in predestination, go watch the movie 'final destination'. i'm sure it will give you hope. :p

i personally don't think christianity is meant to be a cult, real christianity is considered having a relationship w/ jesus. now all these other religions that have a million rules to follow and works to do so you can be excepted by whoever you serve, that, i would consider a cult.

now i am not a christian, but i do know that all you have to do is ask jesus into your heart and repent and stuff, but in these other religions, sometimes you can't talk to god or allah or whatever.

i'm just saying that people make christianity out to be a cult because of their own experiances with it and i have many christian friends who don't try to force their belief on me and aren't all crazy holy roller 'cult' people...

so yeah. it may seemike a cult to you, but it's actually quite harmless.

Brian, your admittedly limited experience with Christianity is probably not the best barometer of how dangerous of a cult Christianity not only can be, but throughout history has been and very often still is.

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, but science and technology is the one who got us into this mess. Have you forgotten it was a scientist, not the pope, who created the atomic and hydrogen bombs ----To the Pew-Mouse that chirps xtian wisdom,

Technology comes from whoever has the brains to create it, which is why you won't see it coming from people-of-gawd, like your Pope.

Things like the hydrogen bomb you speak about here, may have been developed by scientists, but rest assured it will be the religious nuts who land up using it; for their own misguided selfish reasons.

Also keep in mind, technology keeps moving forward and sooner or later some nation would have developed those powerful weapons, whether the U.S. did or not.

ATF (who is sure the pew mouse believes that xtians have never wielded a weapon, throughout human history)

Annoyin'us: Have you forgotten it was a scientist, not the pope, who created the atomic and hydrogen bombs?

(is it my imagination, or does this same pathetic strawman pop up about once @ month?)

Anyway, Anony', have you forgotten that throughout history, until now, it has been either Theist leaders, or those leaders who believe they are "God", themselves,who want to blow other human beings up with bombs?

And remember, also, that while many of the religious extremists are ignorant, cave-dwelling, 'rag-heads', they can evidently build bombs on their own---no "Scientist" required.